Jobless Claims Tick Up in Another Sign Economy Is Slowing

The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits continued to tick upward last week, rising at a faster pace than economists were expecting, as the economy shows signs of slowing down.

Initial jobless claims were 235,000 for the week ended July 2, marking a 4,000 increase from last week’s 231,000. This is the highest level of claims since mid-January. Economists surveyed by FactSet were expecting 230,500 initial claims for the week.